Bopedi Bapedi Limpopo Principal

Photo: YouTube Screenshot

Principal sparks political fury for hitting learners “who failed tests” [video]

The Principal of Bopedi Bapedi School in Limpopo has been forced to resign, after a video of him whacking a group of students across their heads went viral.

Bopedi Bapedi Limpopo Principal

Photo: YouTube Screenshot

A school principal from Limpopo has resigned from his job, after footage of him striking multiple learners in his class went viral online. The incident took place at Bopedi Bapedi Secondary, and it is alleged this was the educator’s way of punishing students who had recently failed an assessment.

Education authorities in Limpopo arrived at the school on Wednesday to carry out their investigations at the Sekhukhune-based facility. It’s understand some pupils have been offered counselling, and the school itself is set to implement some rigorous training programmes for its staff.

Bopedi Bapedi Secondary: Limpopo school embroiled in hitting controversy

The clip itself is a little distressing. Several students are lined up at the front of the class. Each one is invited closer to the Principal, who berated the children before whacking them across the head. The cycle continues for the 30 seconds, as the students who escape the beatings can be heard laughing at the victims.

Jacques Smalle is the DA’s Limpopo Spokesperson on Education, and he has vowed to put pressure on the regional Department of Education to follow-up their early groundwork. Smalle says he will write to Education MEC Polly Boshielo, calling on her to ensure that there are adequate vetting mechanisms in place when it comes to adequetly staffing schools.

“Despite the principal resigning, we believe he should be criminally charged for his actions.Teachers are not allowed to disregard the law with regard to corporal punishment and may never use it as a form of discipline.The educator grossly undermined the learners’ dignity.”

“The other learners in the class could be heard in the video laughing at the learners who were being slapped.The department must also provide counselling services for the learners as the humiliation of the incident may affect their academic performance in the long run.”

Jacques Smalle

Watch the Limpopo Principal hit his students here:

Several videos of the incident spread like wildfire across social media, but they have failed to obscure the faces of the victims. Jacaranda FM uploaded a censored version of the video on Wednesday, which you can view here:

Principals behaving badly

This isn’t the first time the behaviour of a Principal in South Africa has been questioned this week: A headteacher at a school in Hammanskraal was roundly criticised for “chasing students from the school grounds” after they failed to bring in the necessary equipment. He could soon be dragged to the SA Human Rights Commission to answer the case against him.